Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, is reportedly planning to either close or sell its indie label, Private Division. This comes in light of Take-Two recently closing two of its studios, OlliOlliworld developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games.
A new IGN report revealed that Intercept Games will shut down on 28 June while Roll7 is also winding down, though a small team will remain behind to “tie up loose ends.” However, the report also mentions that Take-Two Interactive is looking to either sell or close Private Division, the publisher of titles like The Outer Worlds, Rollerdrome and Kerbal Space Program 2.
IGN claims that employees at Private Division were told that layoffs were imminent. At the end of April, staff was reportedly then told by management that Take-Two would no longer offer support to the publisher, laying off staff in the process. The report says that a small number of employees currently remain at the label to support its announced games like No Rest for the Wicked, Tales of the Shire and an unannounced Game Freak title.
Apart from the Private Division studios being closed down, Take-Two Interactive also laid off a number of employees back in April 2024. This resulted in 5% of its overall workforce or 579 employees being let go from the company. A number of projects that were also in development were scrapped as a result.
Despite assurances from CEO Strauss Zelnick that it would be avoiding cost-cutting measures like layoffs, the company, which published one of the highest-grossing entertainment products of all time with GTA V, still doubled down on layoffs – a problem that’s impacting the industry at large at the moment. GTA 6 is still deep in development and on track to release in 2025. It’s hard to say how morale has been affected by these rounds of layoffs and studio closures.
Source: IGN
